Will quitting my professional job ruin my career?
June 14, 2018 4:58 AM Subscribe
I'm a mid-thirties professional woman (assistant type work). I would like to take a break from the professional world and just do housecleaning or something. I can afford this, for now. But would I be shutting myself out of the workforce?
I am not sure if I don't like doing white collar work, if I am still recovering from my last (very sexist) workplace, if the new work place is just a bad fit, or what. I'm exhausted because I farm on the side as well. I'd like to make that full time but I don't know if I ever can. Just out of college I worked at an orchard, and later a bakery, and I loved those jobs.
My mom left the workforce to raise kids (also something I'd like to do) and hasn't been able to get a good job since then. That was at least a 10 year break and what I'm considering could be shorter.
So my question is:
1. If I leave the white collar workforce for a while, will I be shutting myself out from it?
2. Is there part time work I should be pursuing (especially from home) that I could build up instead?
My main skills are: editing, organization, writing instructions
I am not sure if I don't like doing white collar work, if I am still recovering from my last (very sexist) workplace, if the new work place is just a bad fit, or what. I'm exhausted because I farm on the side as well. I'd like to make that full time but I don't know if I ever can. Just out of college I worked at an orchard, and later a bakery, and I loved those jobs.
My mom left the workforce to raise kids (also something I'd like to do) and hasn't been able to get a good job since then. That was at least a 10 year break and what I'm considering could be shorter.
So my question is:
1. If I leave the white collar workforce for a while, will I be shutting myself out from it?
2. Is there part time work I should be pursuing (especially from home) that I could build up instead?
My main skills are: editing, organization, writing instructions
You can definitely take a break without hurting your career. Lots of people do it all the time. You could even spin it as "taking a sabbatical". That said, I would try and limit the time off to 1 year. If it's more than that things may change so much in the industry that if you are really removed from it during that time it will be difficult for you to get your bearings when you return. Not impossible, because your skills sound generalised, but more challenging the longer you are out of it.
You do sound like you're in need of a mental break, especially if you're considering housework as an escape. Not that there's anything wrong with housework as work, but it just sounds like a desperate escape from whatever you do now.
I would say that if you can afford it, first just take 3 months off with no concrete plans. Or work on the farm full time. Use that time to also figure out what you want. Not a listing of your skills, but real introspection about what fulfils you. Is it interacting with people? Is it solitary, tactile work? Is it tinkering with technology? Is it immersing yourself in creative arts? Is it working with children? Animals?
Because again, your skills are generalised and probably applicable in a wide area of industries and spaces. But right now you're so immersed in toxic work environments it does sound like it would be really useful for you to reset and find your passion.
posted by like_neon at 6:03 AM on June 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
You do sound like you're in need of a mental break, especially if you're considering housework as an escape. Not that there's anything wrong with housework as work, but it just sounds like a desperate escape from whatever you do now.
I would say that if you can afford it, first just take 3 months off with no concrete plans. Or work on the farm full time. Use that time to also figure out what you want. Not a listing of your skills, but real introspection about what fulfils you. Is it interacting with people? Is it solitary, tactile work? Is it tinkering with technology? Is it immersing yourself in creative arts? Is it working with children? Animals?
Because again, your skills are generalised and probably applicable in a wide area of industries and spaces. But right now you're so immersed in toxic work environments it does sound like it would be really useful for you to reset and find your passion.
posted by like_neon at 6:03 AM on June 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
Reframe this in your mind: You are not leaving work to become a housekeeper. You are leaving the corporate world to start your own business, part of which entails offering housekeeping services. Start as small or large as you want. Set it up with a DBA and all, and no one will blink if you return to the corporate world either because many businesses close within 5-10 yrs or because you are now CEO of a franchise.
posted by beaning at 6:19 AM on June 14, 2018 [10 favorites]
posted by beaning at 6:19 AM on June 14, 2018 [10 favorites]
A small break won't shut you out of returning to the workplace but it will raise the difficulty level a little. Ageism and sexism do play a role in hiring and some people will use a gap in office work as a reason to hire someone else. Exactly how bad it would be depends on what the economy is like when you try to re-enter.
posted by Candleman at 6:20 AM on June 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
posted by Candleman at 6:20 AM on June 14, 2018 [6 favorites]
It sounds pretty entrepreneurial to me, actually, and tons of people take off time to start their own businesses, then come back to the corporate world if it isn't something sustainable. I think it's all in how you talk about what you're doing when and if you decide to enter the workforce in that capacity again. I don't think you're cutting yourself off from anything much.
posted by xingcat at 6:22 AM on June 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by xingcat at 6:22 AM on June 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
It’s definitely a risk, though how much of one depends on your field. I know someone who took time off for her kids, and once she decided to go back to work, it took years for her to even find something full time. And she’s nowhere near her old professional or salary level. And in spite of having tons of networking contacts in a very large city, she wasn’t able to get back into her old field at all. Obviously, that’s just one person, but it’s naive to think you can be sure that won’t happen to you.
But is going back to the white collar world what you even want? There’s nothing inherently superior about that kind of work. It sounds like you’re happier doing more physical labor. And staying in an office job doesn’t guarantee anything. Companies go under. People get laid off. Imagined security is not necessarily a reason to continue doing something you hate.
posted by FencingGal at 6:39 AM on June 14, 2018 [13 favorites]
But is going back to the white collar world what you even want? There’s nothing inherently superior about that kind of work. It sounds like you’re happier doing more physical labor. And staying in an office job doesn’t guarantee anything. Companies go under. People get laid off. Imagined security is not necessarily a reason to continue doing something you hate.
posted by FencingGal at 6:39 AM on June 14, 2018 [13 favorites]
If two of your biggest skills are writing and editing, couldn't you "freelance" as a technical writer/editor during your break? Even if you only have one freelance project every few months, and you do other stuff (e.g. cleaning) to actually make money, you can put it on your resume to paper over the gap. It also provides a handy excuse for why you're going back to the corporate world, if that's indeed what you decide to do: you're good at writing and editing and organization stuff, but the other aspects of running your own freelance business (e.g. sales, bookkeeping) were just not for you. That way, you don't have to get into why you left your current job to clean and farm, or even that you were cleaning and farming at all. And if the cleaning and/or farming does take off, you can just shutter the freelance thing and do that full-time.
I do, unfortunately, think ageism and sexism will work against you if you do decide to re-enter. Especially in fairly unskilled work like "assistant-type work", there's always going to be more qualified people than there are positions, and why hire a mid-career person when you can hire someone out of college for tens of thousands of dollars less per year? At the same time, though, it feels pretty icky advising you not to do something because of potential ageist or sexist behavior from other people.
posted by kevinbelt at 6:50 AM on June 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
I do, unfortunately, think ageism and sexism will work against you if you do decide to re-enter. Especially in fairly unskilled work like "assistant-type work", there's always going to be more qualified people than there are positions, and why hire a mid-career person when you can hire someone out of college for tens of thousands of dollars less per year? At the same time, though, it feels pretty icky advising you not to do something because of potential ageist or sexist behavior from other people.
posted by kevinbelt at 6:50 AM on June 14, 2018 [8 favorites]
Career breaks to raise children are viewed differently than career breaks to explore another work opportunity. It sucks but our (agist, sexist) society generally devalues time spent away from paid work UNLESS it is focused on developing skills that are clearly translatable to paid work in the near future.
As such it's not very useful to compare the impact of parental leave over other kinds of break. Taking 3-6 months to explore something that can frame as a career development (ie trying out different types of working, going deep into a particular field of research, starting a biz etc) likely won't harm your return prospects unless you're close to retirement when you come back.
posted by freya_lamb at 6:51 AM on June 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
As such it's not very useful to compare the impact of parental leave over other kinds of break. Taking 3-6 months to explore something that can frame as a career development (ie trying out different types of working, going deep into a particular field of research, starting a biz etc) likely won't harm your return prospects unless you're close to retirement when you come back.
posted by freya_lamb at 6:51 AM on June 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
1. Maybe. 2nd Candleman.
A white collar job might be more attractive later on if your body craps out for any reason, which happens to lots of people in their late 30s / early 40s (joints especially).
2. Yes - freelance tech writing, maybe?
If you’re a woman doing assistant-type work, it makes absolute sense that you’d be sick of it. It’s not a bad idea to work towards a job using more specialist skills, that would either let you work alone or at least not have to assist quite so much. If your workplace is toxic, it’s an idea to look for a job somewhere healthier.
posted by cotton dress sock at 6:59 AM on June 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
A white collar job might be more attractive later on if your body craps out for any reason, which happens to lots of people in their late 30s / early 40s (joints especially).
2. Yes - freelance tech writing, maybe?
If you’re a woman doing assistant-type work, it makes absolute sense that you’d be sick of it. It’s not a bad idea to work towards a job using more specialist skills, that would either let you work alone or at least not have to assist quite so much. If your workplace is toxic, it’s an idea to look for a job somewhere healthier.
posted by cotton dress sock at 6:59 AM on June 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
Response by poster: Just to clarify, the housecleaning thing is because I know there is a company in my city where you clean 20-30 hrs a week for reasonable pay and health insurance. It's geared toward artists and other people looking for side income. Not that I would start my own business.
posted by Emmy Rae at 7:05 AM on June 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Emmy Rae at 7:05 AM on June 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
I think the key to this is having a "story" you can tell later about how you spent your time. "I left my job to start/focus on building my business," for example, is going to be an interesting story for white-collar hiring managers. It'll make them curious about you. The farming you do on the side, is that your own farming or are you working for someone else? If it's the former, I think that's enough.
Nthing the freelance editing/writing as another good story to tell.
You can always say something like "I decided to see if I could make a go of it as a full-time farmer/I decided to focus on freelance writing/editing. I learned a lot and it was a great experience, but realized I'd prefer to work with a team/do this kind of work/insert something else."
BTW, I have a professional degree and a skillset that lends itself to professional/white collar work but I hate working in an office every day. The happiest I've been is when I had jobs that mixed office work with work in the field, but in my industry those tend to be more junior-level/low-paid. Anyway, I went out on my own as a freelancer and I'm a lot happier. I am still working in front of a computer most of the time but I set my own schedule and it just feels a lot better to be paid for the work I do, vs. making a salary for showing up at the office. YMMV.
posted by lunasol at 7:26 AM on June 14, 2018 [9 favorites]
Nthing the freelance editing/writing as another good story to tell.
You can always say something like "I decided to see if I could make a go of it as a full-time farmer/I decided to focus on freelance writing/editing. I learned a lot and it was a great experience, but realized I'd prefer to work with a team/do this kind of work/insert something else."
BTW, I have a professional degree and a skillset that lends itself to professional/white collar work but I hate working in an office every day. The happiest I've been is when I had jobs that mixed office work with work in the field, but in my industry those tend to be more junior-level/low-paid. Anyway, I went out on my own as a freelancer and I'm a lot happier. I am still working in front of a computer most of the time but I set my own schedule and it just feels a lot better to be paid for the work I do, vs. making a salary for showing up at the office. YMMV.
posted by lunasol at 7:26 AM on June 14, 2018 [9 favorites]
(Also, I do consulting/freelancing work that is copywriting/editing adjacent and I have been surprised at how much good work is out there. Feel free to memail me if you'd like to chat about that)
posted by lunasol at 7:27 AM on June 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
posted by lunasol at 7:27 AM on June 14, 2018 [5 favorites]
My experience, detailed below, is w/r/t the Banking/Finance IT industry - your industry may differ significantly.
If you've worked a white-collar job long enough you're probably aware of the impression of applicants who left
the industry and are trying to return - it's almost always negative and this is the source of your valid concern.
My impression is that it's "negative" because it supposedly reveals an unfocused career-path and a lack of initiative but it's mostly bullshit. Maybe it's an easy way to reduce the number of resumes to consider? An outdated rule-of-thumb for hiring managers? It's a real thing, though - no doubt.
As a general cog in the machine, I'd say it's more likely than not that you'll be shut out. If you achieved "officer" status at your company, I suspect it'd improve your chances of being able to return, but only marginally.
If you maintain a part-time job in the same industry, I think it won't impact your prospects of returning full-time very much if at all.
My take: I'm not saying white-collar work is worthless, but to me, a non-farmer, the work of farming sounds a great deal more interesting.
posted by alrightokay at 7:36 AM on June 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
If you've worked a white-collar job long enough you're probably aware of the impression of applicants who left
the industry and are trying to return - it's almost always negative and this is the source of your valid concern.
My impression is that it's "negative" because it supposedly reveals an unfocused career-path and a lack of initiative but it's mostly bullshit. Maybe it's an easy way to reduce the number of resumes to consider? An outdated rule-of-thumb for hiring managers? It's a real thing, though - no doubt.
As a general cog in the machine, I'd say it's more likely than not that you'll be shut out. If you achieved "officer" status at your company, I suspect it'd improve your chances of being able to return, but only marginally.
If you maintain a part-time job in the same industry, I think it won't impact your prospects of returning full-time very much if at all.
My take: I'm not saying white-collar work is worthless, but to me, a non-farmer, the work of farming sounds a great deal more interesting.
posted by alrightokay at 7:36 AM on June 14, 2018 [4 favorites]
Being able to put a job on your resume during the gap will be useful; "farmer" is okay; "farm manager" is better; "agricultural researcher" is better still. A voluntary-unemployed gap is a black mark; a stretch of "I took an unusual job to expand my skillset" is not.
Another option is to collect certificates in your time away from the white-collar office world: Sign up for free or cheap courses in various types of office software and business management, and collect a set of mini-degrees to put on your resume. Then you'll be able to say, "I took time away from the office to focus on education."
FWIW, the field of records management is exploding, and it's not going to get smaller. About 10 years ago, the big companies started to shift to digital files for almost everything, and now they have swarms of documents and lots of doc-managing software and no idea how to make any of that work with their actual business focus. So if you like the manage-and-organize side of editing in addition to the write-and-fix side, there'll be openings that won't care if you've been outside the corporate sphere for a while. (The hard part: They have no idea what they need; you have to be able to wade through job descriptions that were obviously written for admin assistants and got shoehorned into another field.)
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 7:45 AM on June 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
Another option is to collect certificates in your time away from the white-collar office world: Sign up for free or cheap courses in various types of office software and business management, and collect a set of mini-degrees to put on your resume. Then you'll be able to say, "I took time away from the office to focus on education."
FWIW, the field of records management is exploding, and it's not going to get smaller. About 10 years ago, the big companies started to shift to digital files for almost everything, and now they have swarms of documents and lots of doc-managing software and no idea how to make any of that work with their actual business focus. So if you like the manage-and-organize side of editing in addition to the write-and-fix side, there'll be openings that won't care if you've been outside the corporate sphere for a while. (The hard part: They have no idea what they need; you have to be able to wade through job descriptions that were obviously written for admin assistants and got shoehorned into another field.)
posted by ErisLordFreedom at 7:45 AM on June 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
I worked part-time for a couple years so that I could farm on the side, and it was easy for me to return to full-time. But I'm in the public sector in a traditionally female profession (librarian); I can't speak to corporate jobs.
That said, if you're a farmer, you're an entrepreneur. There are worse gap fillers IMO, and in my experience farming is a great conversation starter at interviews.
If you do quit, you could look for part-time work doing admin or marketing for an established farm or other food business. I used to see jobs like this on Good Food Jobs.
posted by toastedcheese at 10:16 AM on June 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
That said, if you're a farmer, you're an entrepreneur. There are worse gap fillers IMO, and in my experience farming is a great conversation starter at interviews.
If you do quit, you could look for part-time work doing admin or marketing for an established farm or other food business. I used to see jobs like this on Good Food Jobs.
posted by toastedcheese at 10:16 AM on June 14, 2018 [3 favorites]
I think that, if you decide to do this, it should be because you can imagine ways to develop your new thing (be it farming, housecleaning, or freelance writing) into something that you could pursue and develop indefinitely if you find that you are unable to break back into the white-collar workforce after some time has passed. The folks here telling you to think of this time as a couple of years' sabbatical may have the right idea about how to discuss that time if you do decide to return to the workforce, but - at least in the job market I'm familiar with, as someone with skills I'd describe as similar to yours - being able to find something on a specific timeline if you do decide to return is far from guaranteed.
I asked this question nine months ago and I am still at the job that I hate because I haven't gotten further than an interview after submitting dozens of applications throughout my region, which is relatively dense with the kinds of organizations that I'd like to work for. It's certainly possible that I'm a uniquely unqualified candidate, or have had a run of unusually bad luck, but it's been a slog that has already gone on longer than I had hoped it would.
posted by Anita Bath at 10:34 AM on June 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
I asked this question nine months ago and I am still at the job that I hate because I haven't gotten further than an interview after submitting dozens of applications throughout my region, which is relatively dense with the kinds of organizations that I'd like to work for. It's certainly possible that I'm a uniquely unqualified candidate, or have had a run of unusually bad luck, but it's been a slog that has already gone on longer than I had hoped it would.
posted by Anita Bath at 10:34 AM on June 14, 2018 [2 favorites]
There are two ways to become a housekeeper:
1. Start on your own, do leafleting, get about 30 clients. Wonder how boss/owner/mentor did it. Experience breakdown.
2. Start on your own, do leafleting, get about 30 clients, hire a business manager and decide who you really want to be: the person who brings in the work or the person leading the cleaning and managing the company to meet your own high standards.
Reddit's Entrepreneur Ride Along has a lot of good cleaning businesses owners with great ideas. Charge what your time is worth. I know people who make $90 per cleaner per hour doing domestic work. People will pay, but consider getting big enough that someone else can chase late payment.
I am now running a cleaning business. It's all about service response and quality. Don't be everything, but consider buying a really good carpet cleaning machine and learning how to use it.
posted by parmanparman at 3:52 PM on June 14, 2018
1. Start on your own, do leafleting, get about 30 clients. Wonder how boss/owner/mentor did it. Experience breakdown.
2. Start on your own, do leafleting, get about 30 clients, hire a business manager and decide who you really want to be: the person who brings in the work or the person leading the cleaning and managing the company to meet your own high standards.
Reddit's Entrepreneur Ride Along has a lot of good cleaning businesses owners with great ideas. Charge what your time is worth. I know people who make $90 per cleaner per hour doing domestic work. People will pay, but consider getting big enough that someone else can chase late payment.
I am now running a cleaning business. It's all about service response and quality. Don't be everything, but consider buying a really good carpet cleaning machine and learning how to use it.
posted by parmanparman at 3:52 PM on June 14, 2018
If you're still located in the city listed in your profile, maybe consider working at a food co-op. There are many in your city and they are a lot less sexist. There are white collar office positions as well as store positions. Although working in produce might complement your farming.
posted by a humble nudibranch at 11:00 PM on June 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by a humble nudibranch at 11:00 PM on June 14, 2018 [1 favorite]
I would assume the economy is only going to get worse in the next few years and well, plan accordingly. It takes a long time to find other jobs already even if you don't have gaps in your history as is.
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:58 PM on June 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:58 PM on June 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
Sure, quit your office job. You don't like it, and you can get another one in a good economy. Plus, it sounds like you're thinking of it as a fall back plan. What is your primary plan? What have you loved about working? If you're passionate about your job, life will be more fun and you may be more employable doing it.
Disclaimer: right now I work for Megacorp for the $$$$. I need the money right now. Money is an important factor in deciding your career path.
posted by Kalmya at 5:09 AM on June 14, 2018 [2 favorites]